All Seeing Eyes
by Hageshisa
Summary: What would happen if the storyline was changed slightly? Meet Tidus, a swordswoman with a terrifying gift and Yue, the dedicated summoner she is asked to protect
1. Tidus' Rescue

Disclaimer: Just to say, I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters (wish I did but hey, I'm not Squaresoft!)

One little announcement: any reviews I receive will be answered at the bottom of Chapter 4. As I update, they will be answered at the end of every chapter

"Heya you guys, get ya butts moving!"

Wakka shouted at his team, the Besaid Aurochs. If they were going to stand any chance of winning the trophy this year, they needed to train hard. The blitzball tournament was only days away, and he wanted to at least get into the finals. He shrugged but glanced up when Datto yelled, gaining the entire team's attention.

"Yo Cap'n! There's something in the water out there!"

Wakka squinted into the distance and right there, moving with the current, was a form that actually looked like a person. He yelled to get the person's attention but when they didn't respond, he grew worried. Wading into the water, he easily swam to the figure just as they sunk below the surface and grabbing them, pulled them to safe ground. It wasn't until he was on the beach trying to pump the water out of their lungs that he belatedly realized the person was a girl.

A few minutes passed with no result and then, just when they were all beginning to panic, the girl rolled to one side and started hacking up the swallowed water. Wakka just patted her back but stepped away when the girl had recovered a little. _She's quite a pretty girl_, Wakka admitted. He wondered if she was the same age as Yue - she looked like it. His eyes jerked back to the girl when she moved to get up, but she only managed to prop herself up a little before falling back. It was then he noticed the clean gash on her forehead – Wakka surmised that the water must have rinsed the blood away. Seeing her about to try again, he pushed her down onto the sand gently. The girl could be injured in other places, and would only cause her injuries to re-open - best he get her to the village to be treated. The girl's eyes locked on him for the first time though they weren't focusing on him completely, increasing his worry.

"D-D-Dochirasama?"

Wakka smiled, ignoring the strange language but wincing at the pain clear in the tone of the girl's voice. "Heya there, I'm Wakka. You gonna be alright, so just hang in there - I'm gonna take you to the village."

The girl stared at him but weariness overwhelmed her easily, and her eyes slowly fluttered closed. Wakka didn't know if she'd understood what he'd said, so wasted no time in picking her up and carrying her to the village. Lulu could see her when the black mage had finished her current task - he just hoped it didn't take too long...

Wakka was now officially worried. It had been hours since he'd brought the girl to the village, giving her only secondary treatment and still no sign of Lulu. He was also worried about Yue - the boy he thought of as a younger brother. According to the priests at the temple, the apprentice summoner had not yet returned from the Cloister of Trials with his guardians. Anything could've gone wrong. _But anything could go wrong here too_, Wakka thought as he gazed at the unconscious girl. She hadn't woken, save for the brief moment at the beach, and he was hoping he hadn't missed something fatal when he'd given her a cursory check-over. Growing impatient, he left Lulu's hut and stormed towards the temple. He never noticed the girl stirring.

Tidus groaned as her eyes fluttered open, quickly adjusting to the light. Squinting up at the unfamiliar ceiling, she tried to collect her thoughts. She remembered seeing the blurry form of a man above her, but she must have blacked out. Before that...there was the strange - what was it- Al Bhed girl. She'd done a deep-sea dive mission with the foreign girl after being rescued from the monsters in that old temple. Rikku, that was the foreign girl's name. And before that...

The girl gasped and sat up abruptly. _Auron!_ She looked around the room but found no sign of the tall warrior. Was he even here? It was strange - Auron had taken care of her ever since her father disappeared. Especially after her mother had passed away. Tidus couldn't remember a time when she had woken up without him beside her - it was disconcerting. Sighing, she spotted her now clean and dry clothes draped over a chair and moved towards them. Pain erupted instantly and she reeled, wrapping her arms round her stomach and bending over. Black spots danced before her eyes, but faded once she regained her breath.

Moving more slowly and breathing shallowly to adapt to the pain somewhat, Tidus made it to her clothes and shrugged them on carefully, taking note of the bandages secured around her injuries. Pulling on her gloves, she tried to think of what to do next when suddenly her _'shuumoku'_ activated. An image of a teenage boy kneeling in front of a huge, bird-like creature popped into her mind, but before she could examine anything the vision sped up. She found herself racing out of the isolated room and through what looked like a maze of corridors - before an image of a tall building flashed into the picture. Then her _'shuumoku_' calmed and the vision ended.

Not wasting any time Tidus strode out of the hut and, mindful of her injuries, made her way to the same tall building her _'shuumoku'_ had showed her. Something was wrong with the boy - she'd known that by the red aura surrounding him. It meant he was in danger. Tidus quickened her pace - her _'shuumoku'_ never lied to her, and her visions were always entirely accurate. She'd find out if the destruction of her beloved Zanarkand was true later, when the danger had passed.

Japanese translations:

Dochirasama – who are you?

Shuumoku – roughly translates as 'all seeing'


	2. Waking Up

Brief author's note: I don't think I'll tell you again that I don't own the game or its characters, as I already mentioned it in the disclaimer in chappy 1. I'll just let you get on with the story.

Entering the temple, she ignored the lavish decorations and awe-inspiring statues. Tidus' only concern was how to get through the door at the top of the stairs without the priests raising a fuss. She guessed they were priests due to the strange garments they wore.

"Hey! What're ya doing up!"

Tidus jumped at the voice then turned to see a ginger-haired man watching her. He wasn't dressed in robes so he obviously wasn't a priest, but he was looking at her with...concern? Well, his voice did sound familiar and the yellow clothing - the man she'd glimpsed before she blacked out! He'd worn yellow too! Okay, her vision had been blurry but there was no way she could've missed the bright color! _This must be the guy who saved me_, she surmised.

Ducking her head sheepishly she fumbled with the hem of her clothes, "Ano...I'm sorry. I woke up and...there was no-one around so I thought...I thought this would be a good place to go for answers, you know?"

Great! Now she was babbling - what was she even feeling guilty for? And where did that damn feeling come from in the first place! She was going to help someone! Straightening her shoulders, she glared at him - he looked totally thrown!

"Something's wrong isn't there? Something's happened - to a boy and you can't help."

She interrupted again before his surprise could fade, "Well, I can and I'm going to."

Marching towards the stairs, she felt anger touch her when the priest started preaching about how it was forbidden to enter the Cloister of Trials unless you were a summoner or their appointed guardian. She had no idea what a summoner was or why they would need guardians, let alone the Cloister mumbo jumbo, but she wasn't going to let some little taboo of theirs stop her. Summoning her strength, she pushed the priest out of her way and ran up the stairs.

"I don't care priest - it may be some old taboo to you but it ain't to me! I'm not gonna just stand around and let someone die!" Pushing open the heavy doors she raced in and let the doors slam behind her.

_Right. Okay, now what you gonna do genius_, thought Tidus. Shrugging she moved towards a wall with strange hieroglyphs engraved on it. Concentrating, her surprise turned to elation when her _'shuumoku_' activated briefly and the strange language became known to her. She knew what to do now! She smirked and strolled to the wall with a glowing symbol on it. Making her way through the maze proved easy after that, and she soon found herself looking at a strange lift. She was just wondering how to operate it when the ginger-haired man appeared.

"Hey, ya must be pretty good to make it this far."

"I have a third eye." she replied, watching the man warily to see if he made any connection to her '_shuumoku_'. In the war between Zanarkand and Bevelle, people possessing a '_shuumoku_', or All-Seeing Eye as it was commonly called, were well sought-after. After all, a person who could see glimpses of the past and future - visions - was very valuable. Auron had made her promise never to tell anyone of her talent and she intended to keep that secret. The man only seemed confused though, so she relaxed.

"That how ya knew Yue ain't come back yet?"

"Yue?"

The man gave her a strange look, "Yah, Yue - as in High Summoner Braska's son, ya know?"

She shook her head, "Iie, can't say I do."

His look got incredulous then, "Man, did ya hit ya head or something? Not knowing High Summoner Braska...Where ya from anyway?"

Tidus narrowed her eyes, "Isn't it customary to ask for a person's name first? Who are you anyway?"

The man looked startled but recovered swiftly, "Sorry. Name's Wakka, capt'n of the Besaid Aurochs. And you?"

"Tidus. What's the Besaid Aurochs?"

"You don't know the Besaid Aurochs? Geez! Well, to make it short, we're a blitzball team. Ya ever play blitzball?"

"Blitzball's my fav sport - course I play it! I was on my own team back home too!"

Wakka grinned, "Oh yah, what team's that?"

"Zanarkand Abes."

Wakka paused from getting on the lift and turned to look at her, "Man ya must have hit ya head real hard."

Tidus shook her head and followed him to the lift, "Why're you following me anyway? I thought I was the only one breaking rules."

"Me? I'm allowed in 'ere - I'm a guardian."

Silence reigned as the lift activated and they moved deeper into the depths of the Cloister...

Japanese translations:

Ano – um

Iie - no


	3. The Guardians

Brief author's note: Okay just thought I'd let you know that I'm making Zanarkand have a different language, and for simplicity's sake, it's going to be Japanese. Bear in mind I don't know a lot of Japanese (though I'm learning!) so some words are just going to be roughly guessed (using one of those annoying dictionaries!)

Wakka watched the girl out of the corner of his eye - man was she feisty! And brave if she came here even though it was forbidden. Although it was possible she didn't know about the rules - she didn't know about Yue or High Summoner Braska, and even claimed to play for a blitzball team whose city was destroyed a thousand years ago! Maybe Lulu could help find out if the girl had amnesia or something...Tidus, he thought. An unusual name for an unusual girl. Still, she was showing signs of pain so he'd just keep a closer eye on her.

Walking into the antechamber, he groaned at the look Lulu gave him upon seeing him. Kimahri looked slightly annoyed but nothing more.

"Didn't think we could handle it?" Her voice was cool and he knew he'd have to come up with an excuse pretty quick.

Tidus took the choice from him, limping forward into the dim light. Both guardians looked surprised to see a stranger in the Cloister and turned accusing eyes towards him, scolding him for allowing it. He merely shrugged; it wasn't like the girl had given him a choice.

Tidus raised an eyebrow, "More guardians? Kuso, how many you need!"

Wakka grinned, "Heh, the more the merrier I always say."

"You're not doing a very good job then are you? What kind of guardian leaves a boy with a beast like that?"

He watched her cringe as the other's eyes scrutinized her - what secret was she hiding? She implied that she knew of aeons, yet knew nothing about summoners or the teachings of Yevon. He wondered how much the girl actually knew...

Lulu stepped closer, eyes widening at the weariness and pain in the girl's movements - she was trembling in an effort to keep her exhausted body standing. How could Wakka allow this girl to enter the Cloister, let alone in the state she was?

Wakka frowned, "Since when are aeons' beasts?"

Tidus looked confused, "Aeons? What are aeons?"

Nope, she didn't have a clue, Wakka figured as Lulu and Kimahri looked on in disbelief. Tidus called them beasts because she didn't know what they were called in the first place, and well……he guessed aeons were kind of like beasts anyway.

"Is that what you call that bird-like creature? Aeons, huh?" Crossing her arms, Tidus shook her head, "Iie, that's not it – it has another name…….V-Valefor? Valefor, that's it!"

Wakka knew his jaw dropped a foot – how'd she know the name belonging to the aeon of the Besaid Temple Fayth? There was something seriously up with this girl. Knowing intricate details like that, but not knowing the basics? He opened his mouth to ask her how she knew that when the door opened and Yue stumbled out. At precisely that moment Tidus collapsed, her injuries overwhelming her. Lulu crouched at the girl's side while Yue looked startled at the strangers' sudden appearance. Lulu glanced at Wakka.

"Take her to my hut – she needs help," standing up, she brushed the dust off her clothes, "where did you find her, Wakka?"

Wakka merely picked the girl up, "Was on the beach training with the guys when Datto sees something in the water, so I swim over and there she is. She's lucky I swam out – she went under jus' as I reached her. Anyways, I bring her back to the village cause' she's hurt, then I come looking for you and the next thing I know she's in the temple. Saying something bout a boy in danger……"

They all turned to Yue, who smiled sheepishly, "Well…..I did get into a little trouble……the Fayth almost didn't listen to me," he suddenly turned thoughtful, "I was just about to give up when the Fayth told me a warrior blessed with the All-Seeing Eye would seek me out and aid me on my journey. But I don't know what an All-Seeing Eye is….."

Lulu frowned, "Well, let's leave it for now – the girl is more important."

Japanese translations:

Kuso – a swear word roughly meaning 'damn'


	4. Journey's Beginning

When Tidus awoke, the sun was already setting. Sighing, she sat up and noticed that once again, she was naked and her clothes were lying folded on a chair. The only difference was that the bandages were clean now, and everything didn't hurt so much. The accident that sunk the salvage ship must've hit her worse than she'd thought.

_Bakayarou!_ Tidus berated herself silently in Zanarkand's tongue, _you're a soldier – you're supposed to be strong, not weak!_

A woman dressed entirely in black entering disrupted her thoughts and she slowly sat up, smiling despite her aching body.

"Are you the one who healed me?" The woman nodded. "Thank you, then."

Dragging herself out of the bed, she paid no mind to her nudity and fetched her clothes – she and the woman had the same things after all. It would be different if there were a man in the hut. Now fully dressed, she looked for the one thing missing; her knife. She'd need it if she were to find Auron by herself.

"Is there something you're looking for?" asked the woman.

"Yeah actually – my knife," she noticed the woman's surprise at her bluntness, "I need to have it back before I leave."

"You're going somewhere?"

Tidus hesitated before answering, "I….I need to find someone – an old friend and I'm not about to go wondering about unarmed, waiting for some Bevelle sniper to pick me off while I'm doing it."

Lulu arched an eyebrow, catching the words' true meaning, "Why would soldiers from Bevelle want to dispose of you?"

Tidus looked bewildered, "Ano…the fact we're in the middle of a war is a pretty good reason," at the woman's confusion Tidus became frustrated, "Come on; don't make me spell it out!"

"Spell what out?"

Tidus sighed, "Fine, if you must know I'm….from Zanarkand." She stared at the door, "Don't be spouting that fact around though, okay – I'd rather not be shot just 'cause Zanarkand's got mahou, and Bevelle hasn't."

Lulu motioned the girl to sit on the bed, "There is no war between Bevelle and Zanarkand, it ended a thousand years ago."

Tidus gazed at her, "So….what that girl Rikku said was true, then? Zanarkand really is a pile of rubble?"

At the sight of the girl's grief, Lulu wasn't sure whether the girl was merely suffering from amnesia as Wakka suspected, or whether she really was telling the truth. She decided to be honest with the young blonde.

"I'm afraid so."

The girl sniffled, "B….But I was only playing blitzball there the other day! Why am I here!"

"I don't know, maybe you should ask your friend when you find them." At this point, Lulu just wanted to stop the girl hyperventilating.

"Hai, I think I will – demo…but I don't know how to find him!"

The blonde burst into tears, and surprisingly Lulu found herself trying to comfort the stranger. Suddenly, Lulu had an idea.

"Why don't you travel with us?" Tearful eyes looked up at her and Lulu smiled reassuringly, "We are heading on a pilgrimage – we'll be stopping at Luca along the way. Perhaps someone there knows your friend's whereabouts."

"Luca? That some big fancy place?"

Lulu nodded, "Luca is almost the capital city of Spira – it certainly is the largest settlement."

Tidus almost agreed but stopped herself. Her eyes narrowed, "Matte, this pilgrimage; it's important, isn't it?"

Again Lulu nodded.

"Ano, why would you invite me? I'm just a stranger you healed, which I'm grateful for, but I've got things to do too. I would probably be a distraction."

Lulu sighed, "The pilgrimage is for the boy you wanted to rescue back in the temple. His name is Yue, the son of High Summoner Braska. He's training to be a summoner himself, which is what the pilgrimage entails."

Tidus cut her off, "Bear with me, but what's a summoner and what's a pilgrimage got to do with them?"

Lulu hid her surprise, "A summoner is a powerful man or woman capable of giving corporeal form to great spirits of yore – more commonly known as aeons. Each aeon possesses its own unique form and elemental attacks. Summoners are granted the ability to summon these creatures by appealing to the fayth, which are located in the temples."

"Ah, you mean like koumajutsu? I get it now."

"Those words you keep saying," Lulu began, "and this k-k-oumajutsu….what are they?"

The girl nearly fell off the bed, "Uso daro konna! You mean you don't know Nihongo?"

At the woman's shaking head Tidus sighed, "Nihongo is the native tongue of Zanarkand. I did learn Universal like Bevelle uses, but I have a habit of sticking Nihongo here and there in my sentences. Guess I should try not to do that now, ne?"

Lulu nodded, "It might be wise."

Tidus grinned, "Alright then, I guess I could come with you – just until I get my bearings straight mind."

Lulu smiled; she liked this girl, "Very well. On that prefix, my name is Lulu. You already know Wakka so I will introduce you to Yue shortly."

Tidus clapped her hands, "Yatta!" at the word she blushed bright red, "Ooops! Ano….Lulu, I don't think I can stop doing that!"

The black mage shook her head, "Well then, we'll just say you had a run-in with Sin."

Tidus tilted her head, "Sin? Oh! You mean that huge oni the salvage ship I was on ran into."

"What's an 'oni'?"

"It's like a fiend, which we call akuma – only more powerful, like a boss fiend. Get it?"

Lulu nodded, "So…you've already run into Sin before?"

"Hai. I was found floating in the water by a passing salvage ship and they took me on board, provided I worked of course. Then Sin appeared out of nowhere, and the next thing I knew, the ship was sinking," the blonde girl replied.

"Well, this makes everything easier," at the girl's confused look she elaborated, "People believe Sin releases a toxin wherever it goes which affects people's memories and so forth."

"Ah! So we say I was infected by Sin's toxin and then no-one cares if I speak Nihongo, ne?"

Lulu nodded and Tidus fisted the air. When she calmed down, she instantly looked contrite, "Ashikarazu Lulu-san, I forgot – my name is Tidus."

Lulu merely smiled and ignored the language. With Yue's curiosity, they'd all probably be learning Nihongo by the end of the week………

Japanese translations:

Bakayarou – roughly means 'stupid idiot'

Mahou – magic

Hai – yes

Demo – but

Matte – wait

Koumajutsu – roughly means 'to summon' (but I'm using it to describe a summoner)

Uso daro konna – You've got to be kidding me

Nihongo – the formal name of the Japanese language (much like French is Francais)

Ne – generally means 'eh?'

Yatta – Yippee!

Oni – demon

Akuma – fiend

Ashikarazu – the formal method of saying 'sorry'

-san – attached to the end of someone's name when you highly respect them, or don't know them that well

To those who reviewed:

**Lucrecia LeVrai** - Thanks for your review! Um...have to say I can't picture Tidus with an incredibly high female accent either "cringe" (it may seem impossible but in my head, I view her having a much 'lower' tone of voice. Then again, that's in my head). As for your other comment, I do intend to make it more AU-ish and will change and add quite a few things. However, I will sometimes follow the game's storyline (some things will naturally be the same) but don't worry...some twists will be uploaded soon! I just need to work on it :)


	5. The Crusaders

When the girl had collected her knife, Lulu led her out to where the villagers were gathered. Many glanced at the beautiful stranger, most of whom had seen Wakka bring her in, but none moved forward to introduce themselves. The presence of Lulu prevented them. Parting the crowd, Lulu stopped next to a handsome brunette with one blue, and one green, eye. _Sugoi!_ Tidus thought.

"Yue, this is Tidus – she is going to be traveling with us to Luca. Tidus," the blonde girl glanced at her, "this is Lord Yue, son of High Summoner Braska."

Tidus nodded, "Nice to meet you, Yue-sama."

Yue blinked at the strange prefix but smiled, "Hello Tidus. I'm glad you'll be traveling with us."

The crowd suddenly started chanting and Wakka appeared. "Hey! Good to see ya better!" He smiled at Tidus then turned to Yue, "Yue, the villagers're waiting for ya to show ya aeon, get it?"

Yue smiled and moved into an open space. Tidus stared in surprise as she realized she knew what the brunette was doing. _Yahari, he's koumajutsu! He's able to summon reiken using the Doushikai - though I don't remember koumajutsu dancing around like that for summonings, just for the chingon. _Tidus grinned as a magnificent bird-like aeon with red plumage appeared. _Ohayo Tori! I wonder if you remember me,_ thought Tidus when she recognized the beast, but stayed well back while Yue petted it. _I used to pet you like that Tori,_ she thought wistfully. _Only when Lenne-chan summoned you mind, but she always let me near you and the others. You're not Tori anymore though – you're Valefor now._

Suddenly overcome with grief, she stumbled away from the crowd and sunk to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. _I miss Lenne-chan,_ came the thought unbidden. _I miss Shuyin-chan too – he taught me how to use my sword Caladbolg._ Any further thought was stopped as she fought to hold back the tears. _Auron-sensei, where are you?_ She looked up as a shadow passed over her and saw Yue. The brunette smiled and sat down beside her, ignoring the celebrations going on around them.

"Hey, are you alright? You looked really sad."

Tidus smiled weakly, Hai, I'm fine Yue-sama. Thank you for asking though."

"It was nothing. So….what's that 'sama' stuff about, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Oh, well it's from a language I learned as a baby – it's used when addressing someone of high prestige, like a Lord or Lady," replied Tidus.

"Interesting," Yue mumbled before he saw Lulu beckoning to him. Reluctantly he rose, "I'll see you tomorrow then, Tidus."

Tidus nodded and watched as the brunette ran to meet the black mage. She was startled when Wakka suddenly plopped down beside her, but he merely smiled at her.

"Good to know ya'll be joining us next day. Yue'll have someone to talk to."

Tidus frowned, "Ano, doesn't Yue already have people to talk to?"

"Well yeah, but nobody his own age, ya know?"

Tidus nodded relaxed, but jerked back to attention when two men seated themselves in front of her, dressed in strange military-like clothes. A memory of two men talking to a nine-year-old her, and brandishing guns flashed into her mind. Unnoticed, her hand crept to hover over the knife hilt in its sheath.

The eldest waved a hand at her, "You can relax, we're only here to ask some questions – Crusader business if you will."

Her hand moved back to rest on her thigh, sensing no real threat from the two men. It didn't matter anyway – she was a soldier. It would be too easy to take them out if they tried attacking her. Curiosity took over at their words.

"Gomen nasai," she cringed at the raised eyebrows, "what's this…Crusader thing…you're talking about?"

The youngest stared at her, "You mean you don't know what the Crusaders are!"

Sapphire eyes flashed in annoyance at the indignant tone – she didn't have to sit here and listen to them! Her attention was merely a common courtesy she'd been taught to extend to other people! _I'd much rather spend my time making a plan to find Auron-sensei,_ Tidus thought as her muscles bunched underneath her, and she stood gracefully.

"Wait!"

Tidus glanced down and saw it was the eldest who had spoken. Obviously, he'd guessed her intent to walk away. He ran a hand through his red hair, trying to find a way to apologize without belittling the younger man. Tidus smirked inwardly, _Lets see how he handles this – he's obviously a soldier from the way he acts. The younger man is clearly a subordinate from the way he tags along, yet the two have a relationship going beyond official duty._

Tidus grinned when she correctly guessed the two to be friends – after all, a superior officer would never allow a subordinate's personal feelings to affect the gathering of important information, unless they were associated by something more than rank and their aura's indicated this. Seeing the man floundering, she winked at a flabbergasted Wakka and sat back down. Crossing her arms, she waited for the officer to speak. He seemed to have made his mind up on what he was going to say.

"I apologize on behalf of my friend – we had thought the entire population of Spira was aware of the Crusader's activities. It took us by surprise to hear this is not the case and we reacted poorly."

_So, he's blaming the both of them for the cadet's actions_, Tidus thought. The man's tactic was well thought-out – by implying that both of them had reacted badly, he was suggesting that his own response had triggered the cadet's case of bad manners. This meant that Tidus would relax enough around them to answer their questions, instead of leaving as she'd been about to do. _Well done officer_, she applauded the man mentally.

Wakka spoke up when he sensed she wasn't about to, "Fellas, this 'ere is Tidus. She's the girl I found on the beach this mornin'. Lulu said she was near Sin or somethin', cause she don't remember a lot."

The eldest nodded, "Of course – Sin's toxin," he offered a hand to Tidus and she took it, "I apologize again for our ignorance. Until now, I was not aware of your arrival on Besaid as I was caught up in other business. I am Captain Luzzu of the Crusaders…and this is my second-in-command, Gatta."

"You have good negotiating skills, Captain – had you said the wrong thing, I would've left this conversation and refused to answer anything you might ask me," Tidus smirked, "Next time, however, you should allow your second-in-command to speak for himself. It was his mistake, after all."

Gatta stared at her stunned, but Luzzu merely smiled, "Thank you for the compliment and yes, perhaps next time, I shall allow Gatta to speak but I doubt there will be a next time. Now, onto more important things – Gatta, tell her about the Crusaders."

Gatta saluted, "Yes sir! The Crusaders are a group of elite fighters founded by Lord Mi'ihen himself to combat the threat known as Sin. We have chapters all throughout Spira for any who wish to join our cause."

Tidus nodded, "I see…so you fight Sin. You're not doing a wonderful job, are you?"

Gatta spluttered but Luzzu once again took over, "Our main concern is protecting the towns, cities and people of Spira. Thus it is helpful when news of Sin reaches us."

"I'm assuming you want to ask me about Sin?" Tidus asked.

"That would be affirmative," replied Gatta, now controlling his shock at the civilian girl who dared to speak so bluntly to his captain.

Tidus leaned back so she was resting on her elbows, "Ittazentai. Ask away but I'm suffering memory loss, so I might not know a lot, ne?"

Luzzu accepted the strange language as part of her condition and ignored it, "That's fine. So, where did you encounter Sin? Was it close to Besaid?"

Tidus looked at him as if he were stupid, "If this is where I washed up on shore, doesn't it make sense that Sin was somewhere around here, ne?"

Gatta was about to open his mouth again but she stared at him, and he stopped. _There's something off about her eyes_, the cadet thought. He felt like she was looking right into his soul and seeing him for all he was; the impression was hypnotic. Gatta could've sworn the sapphire orbs had flashed red for a minute, but her eyes were still the same blue color when he looked.

If Luzzu noticed the byplay, he didn't show it, "I was merely checking Sin's whereabouts – Sin usually attacks the settlements it is close to, yet it hasn't done so with Besaid. I wonder why?"

Tidus shrugged, even though he hadn't been asking her.

Luzzu jerked back to reality, "Thank you for your time, Tidus. I hope you regain your memories soon."

Again Tidus shrugged, and watched as Luzzu and Gatta rose to their feet then returned to the Inn where they were staying. Still Tidus stared after them, remembering the shred of fear she'd felt from Gatta when it became clear Sin might be somewhere nearby. _Gatta-san is afraid of this oni – he doesn't want to die_, the thought came.

Suddenly Wakka jumped her, trying to get her in a headlock. Despite sitting down, Tidus struggled free from his hold and stood; facing the ginger-haired man.

"Itai! What was that for Wakka-san?" She shouted.

"You! What were ya thinkin' Tidus! Ya don't talk to Crusaders like that!"

She huffed in slight annoyance, "Says who?"

Wakka struggled to answer her question and Tidus got the feeling he had never been asked that before. _These people follow stronger factions like blind sheep, never thinking for themselves,_ Tidus guessed. _What happens if the Crusaders are obliterated by this Sin? Will they flounder without guidance, or will they merely seek another faction to oppress them? _

Tidus shook her head and walked past Wakka, "Your people are strange, Wakka-san.

He looked dreadfully confused and she took pity on him, "Never mind Wakka-san, lets forget this conversation. What's going on now?"

Wakka shook off the confusion, "Now…it's time for bed! We're leavin' early tomorrow mornin' – gotta be up early!"

Tidus giggled when he pushed her in the direction of the Inn, where she would find a bed for the night. She sighed as he left. _I will find you Auron-sensei……_

Japanese translations:

Sugoi – cool/awesome

-sama – honorific attached at the end of a person's name when they are greatly respected (like, say…an Emperor)

Yahari – of course

Reiken – soul (used in this fic to describe aeons)

Doushikai – faith (in this fic – faith)

Chingon – describes a 'repose of souls' (used to describe a sending)

Ohayo – hello

Tori – bird (thought it'd be simple enough to use as Valefor's Zanarkand name)

-chan – attached at the end of someone's name when they are a close friend, or younger than you (usually used when speaking to a child)

-sensei – attached at the end of a person's name when they take the role of a teacher/mentor

Gomen nasai – excuse me

Ittazentai – whatever

Itai – ouch!

Brief author's note: Phew! That was a long chapter! I know…this chapter's only a teeny weeny bit original but I'm working on fitting the twists in – it just takes a while to figure out where they can go in smoothly. Rest assured, they will pop up!

To those who reviewed:

**mamo-chan**: Thanks for your review! I'll try to update as much as possible (hopefully my brain won't freeze on me!)

**Lucrecia LeVrai**: Thank you for your second review, and I am by no means offended. Please keep the insight coming my way - I'm really grateful for it! Chapter 6 should be up soon!


	6. Warning! Please Read!

PLEASE READ!

I'm sorry to say I won't be able to upload new chapters for quite a while. My comp's come down with a virus, so everything has to be scrapped and the hard-drive cleaned.

My fics will be saved though, so I'll continue to think up new chapters while the comp's being sorted, and I'll upload them as soon as I'm able to. I'm really sorry that I'm leaving you waiting for the next chappy...but can't help it afraid!

Thank you for reading this….and I ask you to please be patient. When everything's fixed, I'll be back :)

New chapters to the fics **Experiment**, **All Seeing Eyes** and **Sweet Revenge** will be uploaded immediately after the comp's fixed, so no worries...I'm not leaving you hanging!


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